Cardinals won at Utah Valley last night 74-68 after beating MSM by 15 at home. Tough game Tuesday night but it will be Lamar's 3rd game in 6 days after playing at UK on Sunday. I would say press em but don't think we have the numbers for that.
I watched some of their game against Utah Valley. The stream is available on youtube if anyone is interested and i'll post it below.
Before I get into a scouting report, let's talk about their coach. They are coached by Tic Price, and if that name rings a bell, you may remember that he was once the head coach at Memphis, where he succeeded the Larry Finch. He was hired at Memphis after an extremely successful start to his head coaching career at New Orleans, who he lead to the best three seasons in their history.
He was fired from Memphis just before the start of his third season after it was discovered that he was having an affair with a student, and that scandal derailed his career.
It's also worth noting that he was drafted into his current gig as the Lamar Head coach. He had retired from coaching and was working in the Lamar AD's office when they fired Pat Knight.
Their president asked him to take over the basketball program on an interim basis and Price initially said he had no desire to ever coach again, but their president told him that it wasn't an offer, but an order.
On to the scouting report.
They are athletic at every position. Very balanced offensively, but their go-to player is TJ Atwood, a 6-6 swing who they try to find both in the high and low post, and is an effective catch and shoot 3-point shooter when they run their offense through the post or one of the two below mentioned players.
Two other players to watch are: VJ Holmes, a 6-4 physical guard who plays kind of like a poor man's Paul Delaney (Physical and active defender, offensively he's good at getting into the lane and making things happen, not much of a spot up shooter.) Davion Buster Undersized shooting guard generously listed at 5-10 150 pounds. He's an excellent shooter. Shifty and able to create his own shot, he's deadly off the ball as a spot up shooter when he isnt creating his own shot.
They are a deep team, with 9 players averaging at least 10 minutes a game, and a tenth right there at 9.5 minutes per game.
Defensively they play almost exclusively man, and do a good job collapsing on the ball when it gets inside then quickly recovering to get into the passing lanes when the opposing team tries to kick it out. They have quick hands and are always looking to swipe the ball.
All in all, they look like a good team and will be a handful for our Blazers.
(11-23-2019 10:47 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote: Lamar is my second favorite program. Lots of family went there and I was very close to going there. I am from that area.
Lamar has a rich basketball history. I remember watching James Gulley play for the Cardinals back around when I graduated from high school. Great player.
Lamar is 4-1, with wins over Champion Christian, Arlington Baptist, Mount St. Mary’s, and Utah Valley. Lamar is ranked 249 by KenPom. UAB is at 148. Utah Valley is 181 and MSM is 257.
Thanks for the breakdown BlazerMatt. First real test of the post-scootie era. Them being deep and athletic worries me given our depth and ball handling.
/
Lamar
![[Image: latest?cb=20110126055327]](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/revengeofthenerds/images/0/04/350964_main.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110126055327)
